Way Back When
by JantoFan
Summary: After an incident with an un-known alien artifact, Ianto wakes up somewhere he really doesn't want to be. Now all he has to do is find a way to reverse it and get home...
1. Injury

**This was originally going to be a one-shot, but I got bored writing and thought my juju might come back if people read the first half and reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, I just like to play with it…**

* * *

"What is it?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "If I knew that, Owen, it wouldn't be lying on the autopsy table being examined, would it?"

"I know that." Owen snapped. "What I mean is; why is it here? It's not a dead alien, so why the hell is it on my table?"

"Because this is the safest place for it."

Owen opened his mouth to respond, then decided not to bother. He knew once Jack got an idea into his head there was no changing his mind.

"I'm getting nothing." Toshiko reported in frustration, standing up straight and examining the tiny screen on her hand held computer. "no heat signature, no life signs, no words to translate. As far as I can tell this is just a solid lump of metal." she looked at Jack. "Um…could it just be a solid lump of metal?"

"What, one that's perfectly spherical with carvings?"

"Well…it could be an ornament or something."

"Maybe…" Jack looked unconvinced. At that moment, Gwen and Ianto walked in carrying 5 Starbucks coffees. The machine was broken, much to Ianto's chagrin.

"Ianto, I love you." Owen said, taking the paper cup and having a drink.

"Easy there, Owen." Jack said. "I might start getting jealous."

"Don't worry Jack, I'll never take Owen from you." Ianto said with a straight face, handing Jack his drink. Jack mimed slapping him round the head and Ianto grinned. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked, noticing the metal orb for the first time.

"Not a fucking clue." Owen said sourly.

Jack sighed. "Much as I hate to admit it, I don't think there's much else we can do. And it's…" he checked his watch, "21:30! Bloody hell, Yan, why'd you let me drink coffee? You know I wont be able to sleep for hours now…" Ianto looked at him with one eyebrow raised, and Jack smirked. "Oh, I see. Well, seeing as I wont be asleep any time soon we could always try…"

"**Don't** want to hear all the gory details, thank you!" Gwen cut across. She reached out a hand to the object, then paused. "This thing safe to touch?"

"Don't know. No-one's tried yet without gloves."

"I'll pass." she said, pulling back her hand.

Jack raised his voice slightly. "Ok, Ianto could you take that thing down to the archives, don't forget gloves, and the rest of you can go home!"

Ianto pulled on a pair of thick gloves and picked up the orb. It was surprisingly light for it's size, which he hadn't been expecting.

Everyone was halfway out of the autopsy bay when they heard a loud clang and Ianto yell out "bloody **hell**!"

Jack turned to see the orb lying on the floor and Ianto clutching his hand.

"Yan? You ok, did you drop it?"

"The bloody thing's got spikes!"

At this, Toshiko and Owen both turned and hurried back in.

"It doesn't have spikes!" Toshiko insisted, "I'd have noticed!"

"Well something bloody stuck me!" Ianto said, pulling off the glove to reveal a deep, bleeding puncture wound in his finger.

"Shit." breathed Owen, hurrying forwards. Jack grabbed him and held him back.

"Ianto? Do you feel ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I…" he blinked as the room suddenly swam and multiplied before his eyes. "Although there appear to be three of you." he commented, before collapsing to the floor in a dead faint.

* * *

Ianto groaned as the alarm clock next to his bed began chattering at him. He wondered briefly how he'd got there, then realised Jack must have taken him home. His head was killing him and his stomach was in knots like he hadn't eaten for days. Maybe he should call Jack and tell him he was sick?

"Come on, Ianto, get up!" he blinked, confused, as a middle aged woman bustled into his room and opened the curtains.

"Mam? What're you doing here?" he looked round and realised with a jolt he was in his old bedroom, at his mother's house. "What am _I _doing here?!"

"I'm here because you're not getting up." She gave him a gentle smack round the head, "And you're here because you're a lazy sod. Come on, get up, it's your turn to cook breakfast."

"But…mam, I don't live here! I live in Cardiff!"

She sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. "Ianto, love, I know you didn't want to move. Neither of us did. But we didn't have any choice, your father leaving us with the debts that he did. Not that I blame him, God rest his soul, he tried so hard to keep this family afloat. But we couldn't keep the Cardiff house, pet, you know we couldn't." she stood up. "Come on, Yan. Out you pop." She started to leave.

Ianto reached out a hand to stop his mother leaving, then froze staring at it. _That was not his hand_. He'd read somewhere that about 95 percent of people couldn't recognise their own hand in a photograph, but he'd always been certain he was in the 5 percent that could. He just noticed stuff like that. And that was definitely not his hand, it was too thin. And too pale, it was practically transparent. He jumped out of bed and hurried over to the mirror, then almost fainted at what he saw.

Himself.

Only, it wasn't himself, or at least not the version he usually saw in the mirror.

It was him as a teenager. Maybe 16.

_Oh my God, what the hell is going on here?!_ Ianto never usually panicked, but he felt this was a justified situation. _How the hell am I 16 again?!_ He began to hyperventilate, and had to grab a paper bag and breathe into it, all the while staring at his reflection as if hoping it might morph into his more familiar 24 year old self.

It didn't.

As he felt his breathing begin to slow, a more rational part of Ianto's brain kicked in. he needed to find someone to help him. But who? His first instinct was to go to Jack, but he couldn't…

…wait, Jack _could _help him! This was obviously caused by some sort of alien tech, therefore Jack could help! All he needed to do was get to him!

Easier said than done though. He was in London, and Jack was in Cardiff. How was he going to get all the way to Cardiff at this short notice?

"Ianto!" he heard his mother call up the stairs. "Get a move on or you'll miss the bus!"

"Bus?"

"Honestly, Yan! The bus for school! I'm not driving you if you miss it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ianto set off nervously down the street. he didn't know what he was going to do, only that he couldn't go to school. He needed to get to Jack.

The obvious thing to do would be to go to Torchwood London for help, but the idea of seeing Yvonne again made his stomach flip slightly. No, he needed Jack. Jack could fix it…

"Ianto! Ianto, wait up!"

A pretty blond girl ran up to him and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly on the lips. Ianto blinked in surprise, staring at her, until his brain caught up.

"Oh! Hey Steph."

Stephanie Taylor. His girlfriend for three weeks, until he caught her making out with his best friend. Well, at least that helped narrow down the time scale slightly…

"Steph, do you know what day it is?"

"It's…Wednesday."

"No, I mean the date."

"Oh. 17th October."

Ianto frowned. He had the strangest feeling that date should mean something to him…

"Ianto?"

He suddenly realised they'd reached the bus stop. "Steph, I cant come to school today."

"Why not?"

"I'm…I'm not well."

"You seem fine." She said suspiciously.

"Steph, please. I'll explain as soon as I can, but I have to go. Cover for me."

"Ok…" she still sounded doubtful, so Ianto turned and ran before she could change her mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ianto ran into the train station, reaching into his pocket to find his credit card. It was only then that he remembered he didn't have one yet. "Fuck." he muttered, looking around. How the hell was he supposed to get to Cardiff without money? With a sinking feeling, he realised he was going to have to try and hitch hike. Ianto had heard a lot of horror stories growing up about people hitch hiking and winding up raped or dead; and as a result it was something he'd never wanted to do himself. He'd done it once when he was 19 with a group of six friends, and even though they seriously out-numbered the driver, Ianto had sat so tense and still the entire journey it was as if he'd be struck with rigor mortis.

An hour and a half later, he found himself standing beside a main road just outside London. He'd gotten a lift from the station from an old lady, but she wasn't going anywhere near as far as Cardiff. He stuck out his hand holding a sign saying 'Cardiff' (he'd scribbled it on the back of one of his school books), but so far no-one had stopped.

Just as he was thinking this, a red lorry pulled over about five meters in front of him. Ianto walked slowly towards it, not wanting to hurry in case the guy pulled away before he got there and he ended up making a twat of himself. As he reached the vehicle, the passenger door was pushed open to reveal a slightly overweight man in his early 40s. "Alright mate, where you headed?"

"I need to get to the Roald Dahl Plass. In Cardiff."

The man sniffed. "I can get you there. Got a delivery to make. Hop in."

Ianto hesitated, thinking that the last thing in the world that he wanted to do was 'hop in', but the desire to see Jack and get this sorted won out, and he climbed inside, closing the door behind him.

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**Like i said, reviews are adored and rewarded with fresh chocolate brownies and Ianto's coffee! xx**


	2. Finding Jack Harkness

**Wow, 13 reviews for chapter 1! I really wasn't expecting such a fantastic response, thank you so much! **

**This chapter is dedicated to HannahRubyx, Galadriel1010, bbmcowgirl, Kitsa, Watcha, bittersweet26, cjh4ever, Yanca, Janto.Girl, GoodyThreeShoes, Solsbury Girl, InsanityamI, and bobby fletch for their reviews!!**

**Warning: References to rape and abuse.**

* * *

Ianto gazed out of the window, watching the cars driving past and doing his best not to look at the driver. He wished he'd just gone to Torchwood 1 now, even seeing Yvonne again wouldn't be as nerve-wracking as this.

"So how come you're going to Cardiff? Seems a long way to travel on your own."

"I'm…meeting a friend."

"Meeting you there, are they?"

"He doesn't know I'm coming."

"I see…why didn't you get the train or something? Does anyone know where you are?"

Ianto froze. The question could have been perfectly innocent, but there was something about the tone that made Ianto suspect if he gave the wrong answer it would be very bad indeed. "My…dad knows where I am. He knows what I'm doing."

"Right. How old are you?"

"Twen…sixteen. I'm sixteen."

The journey passed in silence for an hour. The scenery seemed dull and strangely colourless, so Ianto let his thoughts drift to Jack, and what he would say when he found the older man. Would he believe him? Or would he just think Ianto was crazy? No, he wouldn't think that. Ianto felt sure he knew enough about Jack to convince him he was telling the truth. Either that or a stalker.

"Just need to get some petrol." the driver said, swinging the lorry into a side road that would take them to a service station.

"Sure." Ianto said. He sat in silence whilst the driver got out and filled the tank, debating with himself whether to just get out and run. Although, who's to say he'd find another person willing to take him where he needed to go?

The decision was taken out of his hands when the driver got back in the vehicle. They drove off, but pulled into a lay by before reaching the motorway again.

"What do I get in return?"

"I'm sorry?" Ianto turned to him, not liking the tone in his voice.

"I'm taking you all this way, at a slight disadvantage to me, so what do I get in return?"

"I don't have any money."

"I don't want money." he reached out and placed his hand on Ianto's knee, slowly moving it further and further up his thigh.

"No…" Ianto protested, trying to push him away. He reached for his gun holster before remembering that 16 year old Ianto didn't have a gun.

"It's only fair…I need some sort of payment."

Ianto felt his mind begin to drift; felt himself slipping into his 'safe place' where he had gone whenever Mr. Barnes from across the road had…no! No, he wasn't thirteen anymore, and he was **not **going back there. Ok, so he may not have his gun but he'd faced worse things. He'd survived cannibals. He'd faced down Weevils and Daleks and so many other horrific creatures. He had gotten so strong, and he was not going to let some middle aged man break him again.

He reached out and grabbed the driver's hand, squeezing it as hard as he could and digging his nails in. In that moment he didn't care that the other man was bigger than he was, and stronger than he was. All he cared about was that it had taken him so long to claw his life back, and he wasn't giving it up without a fight.

"Get off me. Touch me again and I will Rip. Your. Fingers. Off. Do I make myself clear?"

The driver looked at him with a sneer, but something in Ianto's eyes made it fade. He nodded and withdrew his hand.

"And don't even think about not taking me the whole way. You promised me a lift to the Roald Dahl Plass, and that's where you're going to leave me or you will be very sorry."

"Ok, ok." the driver threw Ianto a filthy look, before taking the hand brake off and driving once more into the steady flow of cars.

Ianto looked back round at the window, smiling to himself. Suddenly the scenery seemed a lot brighter.

* * *

Ianto looked around the plass, a wonderful feeling of being home flooding through him. As he looked over to the water tower, however, he suddenly realised he had no idea how he was going to get in to the Hub. He didn't have a Torchwood ID anymore…just as he was thinking this, he saw the swish of a coat out of the corner of his eye and looked round; feeling his heart leap when he saw Jack striding across the plass with a stunningly pretty Indian woman. With a jolt he realised they were almost at the tower, another couple of minutes and they'd be gone.

"Jack!" he yelled, running after them. "Jack!"

Jack turned his head, a slightly puzzled look crossing his face when he saw Ianto running towards them, then he placed his hand on the small of the woman's back and walked slightly faster. To Ianto's surprise, they headed around the water tower towards the other door instead of stepping onto the lift. He suddenly remembered that the 'invisible' part wouldn't happen for years, so any lift they installed now would have quite a crowd watching.

"Jack! Bloody stop will you?!"

The older man ignored him and Ianto almost screamed in frustration. Not watching where he was going, he stumbled and nearly fell. When he looked up again, Jack and the woman had gone. "Oh, fuck!" Ianto groaned. Now what the hell was he going to do?

_Let yourself in. _Said a little voice in the back of his mind. Ianto smiled slowly. Even if he couldn't guess the pass-code, it should be enough to get Jack's attention.

He walked over to the spot on the wall he knew the key-code box was hidden and felt around, sighing in satisfaction when he heard a small 'click' and the keypad was revealed. _ok._ he thought, looking at it. _first five numbers have always been the same…8, 2, 7, 3, 4, 7_... Now all he needed to do was guess the remaining four. He stared hard at the keypad, thinking. The year? Too obvious…maybe the last two digits? Ianto typed in 00, followed by a random number. 16.

"8, 2, 7, 3, 4, 7, 0, 0, 1, 6." He pressed the button and waited. A red light told him he'd guessed wrong, but Ianto had a feeling he'd guessed right with the 00. He smiled. He only had 2 more attempts before something bad happened, but that didn't matter. The fact that he'd gotten so close must bring Jack out.

He typed in the same code, adding a 4 and a 9 in place of the 1 and 6. Still no Jack.

Ianto swallowed as he typed in the code again. Maybe Jack didn't care? Maybe he hadn't noticed Ianto? With a trembling finger he reached out to push the button again, well aware of what would happen if he'd gotten it wrong…

"You're getting in way over your head, kid."

He spun round, heart pounding with relief. "Jack! You useless bastard, what the hell took you so long?"

"Turn around and walk away. If you leave now I'll even let you keep your memories of meeting me."

"I cant."

"Then you're putting me in a bit of a situation."

"Jack, you don't understand. I shouldn't be here! I need your help!"

Jack frowned slightly. "I've never met you before, stop calling me Jack."

"Why, do you want me to use your real name?"

Jack looked at him sharply, and Ianto stared coolly back at him. Jack's eyes narrowed.

"Leave. Now."

Jack turned away, but Ianto reached out a hand and stopped him. "Listen to me! I'm Torchwood, I work for Torchwood!"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it. You're, what, 13?"

"No, I'm not. I'm a **lot **older than that."

Jack snorted. Ianto ignored him and continued.

"Something happened to me. Yesterday night I got…injured by some sort of alien artefact. I don't know how it happened, but yesterday was…well, it was in the future. Then when I woke up this morning I was stuck in my teenage body."

Jack looked sceptical. "The future? Still Twenty-First century, though?"

"Yes!"

Jack watched him, and Ianto felt a flicker of hope. Then he spoke.

"Then it's not long to wait until you're back, is it? Trust me, the length of time you'll have to sit through is nothing compared to how long I've been waiting." he turned and walked away. Ianto did some quick mental calculations.

"131 years!" Ianto called after him.

As he expected, Jack paused and turned round. "What did you just say?"

"131 years, that's how long you've been waiting. For 'the right kind of doctor.' for Him."

Jack frowned, considering him for a long moment. "What did you say your name was?" he asked eventually.

"Smith." Ianto said without missing a beat, "Steven Smith."

Jack looked him up and down. "Well, Smith Steven Smith. It seems you and I need to have a little chat."

* * *

Ianto looked around the small bar Jack had brought him to. He desperately wanted a pint or something to make this easier, but he knew perfectly well they wouldn't serve him alcohol.

"Drink?" Jack asked.

"No, I'm fine, sir."

"Are you sure? I could get you a beer or something. I'm above the law remember."

Suspicion tripped in Ianto's mind and he smiled sweetly. "No, thank you. I know you can sometimes be a little free with the Ret-con."

The look of surprise on Jack's face almost made him laugh out loud.

"Honestly, Jack, when are you going to accept that I know all this stuff? That I know Torchwood? That I know _you_?"

Jack threw his hands up in the air. "Ok. Say I believe you. What exactly do you do for Torchwood?" he raised an eyebrow. "I mean, no offence but you don't look like the sort of guy I'd hire."

Ianto flushed, wondering just exactly how much he should disclose about his position in Torchwood. And in Jack's life. "Looks can be deceiving. As for what I do for Torchwood…I do…_everything."_ he finished with a shrug.

Jack sat back and surveyed him. "What you said before. About calling me by my real name…"

"Yes?"

"What did you mean by that?"

"I know that Jack Harkness isn't your real name. You stole it from a captain back in the second world war."

"Do you know what my real name is?"

Ianto hesitated for a split second. "Yes."

"How?"

"You…you told me."

"Why would I do that?"

"You trust me."

Jack continued to stare at him. Ianto looked back into his eyes and felt his heart break a little. He'd seen so many things in Jack Harkness' eyes - anger, passion, and more recently, affection - but what he'd never seen before was indifference. There was nothing in the older man's eyes that suggested he cared whether Ianto lived or died. He made a mental note not to eat or drink anything Jack might have had access to. The last thing he wanted was to wind up being 16 with no memory of the incident which had brought him here.

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**Warm chocolate chip cookies for reviews!**


	3. Meeting the Team

**I know it's only been two chapters, but I've gotta say this is the best response I've ever gotten to a story! Thanks so much!**

**This was originally going to be the final chapter, but people seem to like it so I'm going to make more stuff happen and make it last a bit longer!**

**Dedicated to everyone who's reviewed, you guys are the best! And especially to Solsbury Girl for pointing out the (albeit very small) typo I made in the last chapter!**

* * *

"Are you ok?" Jack asked.

Ianto realised he'd probably been staring at him. "Fine." he said, a little too quickly.

"Are you sure you don't want a drink?" he noticed Ianto's expression and went on hastily, "I promise I wont Ret-con you. I just don't want you fainting or anything, you don't look well."

Ianto smiled weakly at him. "I wish I could believe that, Jack. I really do."

"How can I trust you when you wont trust me?" Jack countered. Ianto sighed.

"Ok, so we've reached a stalemate. So I'm sorry, Jack, I really am, but this is the only way I can think of to break it."

He got up and walked around the table to where Jack sat watching him warily. He bent down close so his lips were right beside the captain's ear and whispered softly. "Rose Tyler. The Doctor. Boeshane peninsula. Blon Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen. John Hart." he hesitated, well aware the effect the final name would have on the other man, "Gray."

He heard an audible gasp and Jack swung his head towards him, almost bumping noses. "How do you know that name?"

"How would I know any of them? Unless I know you." he sighed. "Come on, Jack, what's the worst that could happen? Just take a chance. Believe me."

Jack looked at him, then slowly nodded his head. "Ok." he said softly. "Ok. Let's go."

* * *

Ianto looked around in interest as he stepped into the tourist office which hid the main entrance to the Hub. It looked exactly the same. Ianto made a mental note to redecorate when he got back.

The young woman behind the desk smiled at him. "Sorry. We're closing."

"It's ok, Josie. He's with me." Jack said, following him in. Josie blinked in surprise.

"Jack?"

"I'll explain later. Just buzz us through."

"Ok…" she shot Ianto a confused glance as she pressed the button under the desk causing the door to the Hub to swing open.

Ianto felt strangely nervous as he made his way along the passage. _This is stupid, _he told himself, _you've walked along here every day for over a year!_ But it was different somehow. He was relieved to find the Hub looked more or less the same when he walked into it. Instinctively, he looked up for Myfanwy, but of course she wasn't there yet.

"What's with the kid? Don't tell me we've started doing school trips now."

Ianto looked up to see a man in his 40s staring down at him.

"No, Ben, don't be such an ass." Jack told him, raising an eyebrow. "Steven is…he says he's from the future."

"Time travel?"

"Not exactly." Ianto said, feeling annoyed that Ben was acting like he couldn't speak for himself. "Right now, in the year 2000, this is my real body. It's my mind that's wrong."

"And it's our job to either prove he's crazy and Ret-con him, or find a way to send him back." Jack said. "Team meeting. Gather the others. Steven, you come with me. I assume you know the way to the boardroom?"

"Like the back of my hand." Ianto replied, being careful to walk just ahead of Jack in case he doubted his word.

* * *

Ianto sat down at the table, looking around. He'd just explained everything that had happened, the strange ball with spikes, the sickness, everything. Now he just sat watching as the others discussed it. He looked at each one in turn. "Ben Sherman." he muttered to himself, "killed in the line of duty, October 2001." He looked at the Indian woman he'd seen Jack with in the Plass. "Samina Patel. Quit April 2002. Alive and well and living in Bath." His gaze moved on. "Josie Sharp. Killed in the line of duty, December 2000." he swallowed, feeling very uncomfortable that he knew the happy smiling woman at the end of the table would be dead in two months. He sighed, running his hand over his jaw. He never thought he'd wish he wasn't so thorough. He felt sure that if Owen, or Toshiko, or Gwen was sitting here, they wouldn't know any of these people from a bar of soap…

"Steven!"

Ianto suddenly realised Jack had been saying 'his' name for quite a while.

"Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Go with Josie. She'll give you a complete MOT, tell us if there's anything unusual about you."

"Ok." Ianto nodded.

"And then I want to see you in my office."

Ianto swallowed. "Fine."

* * *

"So…what's it like? In the future?" Josie asked as she shone a light into Ianto's eyes.

He shrugged. "Oh, you know…not too much has changed from now actually. Torchwood's a lot more well known."

She looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Well, we're still secret, but it's quite hard to keep aliens a secret from people when the world gets invaded by Daleks and Cybermen." he paled, realising what he'd just said. "Oh, shit. Please don't tell Jack I just said that. Timelines. He cant know."

"Don't worry." she smiled. "I wont say a word."

"Thanks Josie."

She got out a cuff and began taking his blood pressure. "So what about me, then? Am I still just the humble doctor?"

Ianto smiled at her. "You know I cant tell you that."

"That would be a no then."

"Josie…"

"Ok, ok, I'll stop asking questions."

"Thanks."

* * *

Ianto reached for the door handle to Jack's office, then paused and knocked. It had been a long time since he'd had to knock.

"Come in."

"You wanted to see me, Jack?" Ianto said, walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Yeah. Sit down, Steven."

Ianto sat.

"In the pub…you said the name Gray. Why would I tell you about him?"

"You trust me."

"But why do I trust you that much?" Jack considered him. "Steven, I trust those people out there. They're my team. But when they die I'll replace them with a new team. Always moving on. I would never tell them my secrets. So why would I tell you?"

"I take it they don't know you cant die, then?"

"Hell no. I told you that as well?"

Ianto smiled. "When you sat up after being shot it was sort of a dead giveaway."

"Oh. I noticed you changed the subject by the way."

"Very observant of you, sir."

"You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"

"Nope."

Jack sighed. "Ok. Get the hell out of my office, I have work to do."

"As you wish."

Ianto closed the door behind him and rested his forehead against the cool wood. He felt completely lost. He wished he had some work he could get on with…as his eyes scooted around the Hub they rested on the small kitchen area, and the rusty coffee machine that had clearly not been used in years. Next to it Ianto could see a jar of instant coffee, the sort that usually made Jack grimace. Ianto smiled, and headed off into the kitchen.

* * *

Ianto knocked on Jack's door.

"What?!" he heard a voice snap irritably from inside. He pushed the door open.

"Just wondered if you fancied a coffee?" Ianto asked, holding out the mug.

"No, I don't want a damn cup of…" Jack sniffed. "…coffee? Wait, where did you get that?"

"I made it. In that big coffee machine in the kitchen."

Jack looked shocked. "How did you…? No-one's ever know how to work that thing!"

A memory rose to the surface of Ianto's mind.

_

* * *

_

Ianto held out a mug. "Coffee, sir?"

"_You made coffee? Already being a good butler, I like it." he took the mug and sipped. "Wow. How the hell did you make this?"_

_Ianto shrugged. "I used the machine in the kitchen. It's not hard to figure out how it works."_

"_Not hard? Not hard?? In the whole time I've been here, I've only met one other person who could work that machine!"_

* * *

Had Jack been talking about Steven Smith? About _him_? Ok, that was a bit weird.

"Not a problem, Jack."

"Whatever. I still have work to do. Thanks for the coffee."

Ianto blinked at this abrupt dismissal. It wasn't something he was used to.

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I know nothing much happens, but it should get more exciting next chapter! Hugs for reviews! xx


	4. My Jack

**Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed! You guys are the reason I keep writing :)**

**I wrote this chapter and then realised it wasn't possible, given that Ianto wouldn't know about Jack being frozen if Tosh and Owen were still alive, so I've decided this whole thing takes place in an AU world where they didn't die at the end of series 2.**

* * *

Ianto stood in the morgue, just looking at the closed drawers. He knew he really shouldn't be there. He'd spent the night on the sofa in the Hub (he had had to suppress a smile at the surprised look on Jack's face when he'd pointed out the night before he had no-where to go home to. As if Jack had expected him to go all the way back to London!), and he was up before Jack.

He thought it strange how little the team knew about Jack. They didn't know he couldn't die, and they seemingly didn't know he slept under his office. Jack had made a point of sighing impatiently that he couldn't go home because Ianto couldn't be left alone.

He was so different…

Ianto walked over to one of the drawers and gently stroked the handle with his finger. Inside that drawer, he knew, was Jack. His Jack. Not the grumpy, detached man upstairs, but his friend, his lover, who laughed at his jokes and turned to him for comfort, crying on his shoulder.

In a moment of weakness, Ianto pulled open the drawer and opened the lid. He blinked back tears at the sight of the frozen man, his skin pale, eyes shut. Ianto reached out and stroked his cheek.

How much would change, he wondered, if he thawed him out? Just for a minute, then he could freeze him again. He just wanted so much to feel his arms around him, to see the smile he reserved only for him…

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Ianto spun round, shocked. Josie was standing in the doorway, looking at him in horror.

"I was just…I…"

"Show some bloody respect!" she said angrily, striding forward to close the drawer. She glanced down at the person inside and froze. "What…" she looked up. "What the hell did you do, Steven?!" she reached down to turn the switches, increase the temperature. In spite of his earlier thoughts, Ianto felt a surge of terror run through him.

"No!" he reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Josie, you don't understand! This isn't your Jack!"

"What does that mean?"

"The Jack of this time period is still asleep in his office upstairs, and he **cannot** know he's down here!"

She folded her arms. "Ok, explain."

Ianto licked his lips nervously. "Listen, you cant tell anyone any of this. Especially Jack. If he finds out about this, the whole universe could implode."

She waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, crossing timelines and all that jazz. I've heard this spiel from Jack before."

"In my time…this…man showed up. Took Jack way back into the past. Torchwood found him about 99 years ago, and froze him." he smiled down at the frozen figure. "This is my Jack."

Josie looked uncertainly at him. "He looks exactly the same. How can this guy be from your time?"

Ianto hesitated. He was treading on very dangerous ground here.

"There's things about Jack that…people don't understand."

"Ok…"

"He…" Ianto rubbed his hand through his hair, "something happened to him. I cant explain, because I…it's not my…" he swore quietly. "Look, Josie, I really cant get into this. If you don't believe me then just go to Jack's office and…"

"Believe you about what?"

Ianto felt the blood drain from his face as he saw Jack standing in the doorway. He glanced at Josie, who was looking just as horrified as he felt.

"Jack!" Josie exclaimed.

Jack frowned at the open drawer. "Why are you showing Steven the corpses?" he asked, walking over.

Ianto held his breath, waiting for the captain to see the drawer's occupant and for Josie to start talking. Instead, to his surprise, she slammed the drawer shut before Jack reached them.

"I wasn't, I was checking up on…um…an inconsistency on one of the medical files, and Steven asked if he could help."

"Inconsistency?"

"It's nothing." she said quickly. "Just a typing error on my part. Everything's fine and normal."

"Ok." Jack shrugged, turning and walking away. Ianto gaped incredulously at Josie.

"Thank you…"

She smiled. "Hey, I like this universe as much as the next gal." She looked back at the drawer. "So he's been in there for 99 years? So, in your time he's over 100 years old?"

Ianto couldn't suppress a laugh. "Yes, he's…_definitely_ over 100."

She looked puzzled. "I don't get you sometimes."

"You've known me for one day!"

"Yeah, but…" she shook her head. "You seem to know so much about him," she jerked her head towards the doorway Jack had disappeared through, "but he's always so private. Why would you be any different to the rest of us?"

"I really don't know." Ianto said. He sighed. "Not that it matters. Right now he wouldn't trust me as far as he could throw me. He doesn't even like me."

"Give him time." Josie said with a smile. "Now, come on. If we stay down here much longer Jack's gonna get suspicious." she left the room, leaving Ianto alone. He ran a hand over the drawer.

"What happened to you, Jack?" he whispered.

* * *

Jack watched as Steven Smith made his way out of the morgue and into the Hub. He didn't know what to make of the boy. He did like him, and he seemed so genuine Jack felt like he should believe him. And he had know about Gray…

And that terrified Jack. He'd told no-one about his family, so why would he tell Steven? The thought of being that close to someone…why would he do that to himself? And how close was close? Jack had noticed him glance at the rug which hid the trapdoor to his room when Jack had been talking about going home. Did that mean he knew it was there, or was Jack just being paranoid? He sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was the first time since joining Torchwood that he'd truly felt like he didn't have complete control over a situation.

And Jack didn't like it.

He jerked his gaze away from the teenager when the cog door rolled open and Samina walked in. he walked down to meet her.

* * *

"Hi." Jack greeted.

"Hey you."

Ianto looked round, picking up on the affection in Samina's tone. His eyes narrowed when he saw her delicately touch Jack's hand and smile, and he felt an absurd rush of jealousy. This was ridiculous! It was another 6 years until he even met 'Ianto Jones', so why on earth wouldn't he have another relationship?

"Hi, Steven." Samina said, turning her head to him. Ianto hastily re-arranged his expression into a friendly smile.

"Hi Samina."

She looked at Jack. "So what should I be doing?"

"I want you to see if you can find anything about Steven's weird spiky ball thing. See if we've come across it before."

"I could draw the carvings for you?" Ianto offered. "You know, it might help trace planet of origin or something."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "How accurate do you think you could be, seriously?" he asked.

Ianto resisted the urge to stick out his tongue. "I have an incredible eye for detail. You'll realise that one day."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, if you think it'll help. It'll keep you out of my hair for a while anyway." He strolled back over towards the stairs to his office. "Oh, and Steven? If you feel like making any more coffee, that'd be great too."

Ianto smiled to himself as he prepared the coffee machine. Most people sometimes wished they could have their life over so they could do things differently. Ianto found it slightly ironic, given the hell he'd been through since joining Torchwood, that he still wound up doing exactly the same thing. Just…maybe a little earlier than last time.


	5. Breakthroughs

**Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed! I think this is turning out to be my most popular story yet!**

**Dedicated, once again, to my wonderful reviewers!**

* * *

Ianto sat on the sofa, playing Snake on his mobile. God, he was so bored. There was a limit to how much coffee he could make before someone threw it back at him, and he'd already made more than enough for himself, but there was nothing else he was able to do. He itched to go down into the archives, but he knew perfectly well Jack wouldn't let a 'civilian' down there.

He blinked when the screen lit up and told him his mother was calling. With a sigh, he rejected it. He'd had to turn the phone on silent and turn off vibrating mode, because he didn't know what he'd tell her if he did answer. Telling her the truth would freak her out, but not telling her where he was would probably be worse. Ianto felt the best thing to do was just ignore any calls.

His gaze wandered over to Samina, who was engrossed in whatever it was she was looking at on her computer monitor. What was her relationship with Jack? Friends? Lovers? Jack had never even mentioned her to Ianto…he suddenly felt very insecure. He knew perfectly well that Jack would have other lovers after he was gone, but he'd never really analysed it in too much detail before. He knew that he and Jack could never be an 'official' couple, but the thought that Jack might not ever talk about him once he was gone scared him more than he was comfortable with…

* * *

"Jack?"

Jack looked up. "Hey Ben. What've you got for me?"

"There've been seventeen calls to the police in London about male teenagers who went 'missing' yesterday. No Steven Smith."

Jack breathed out heavily. "Damn. Are you sure?"

Ben checked his list. "Positive. We've got an Andrew Bailey, a Glen Hatfield, a Michael Scott, a Ianto Jones…"

Jack interrupted, his tone annoyed. "Why the hell would I care who else is missing? Kids go missing every day, that's life. All I care about is finding out Steven Smith's background. What's his story?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Might be a bit of a long shot captain, but why don't you just ask him?"

"Because he wont tell me anything. He's afraid of causing a paradox or something."

"Or look him up on the internet?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, because I didn't think of that." he sighed. "Even I cant find someone with only a name to go on. You have any idea how many people are called Smith in London? Let alone the places near enough that people might say they're London…He's been very careful not to tell me anything else about himself. Not even how old he is."

"You want to know what I think?"

"Nope."

"I reckon he's telling the truth. I mean, what would he have to gain by lying? I reckon we should forget about finding out who he is and just concentrate on getting him back home."

Jack sighed. "Maybe you're right. I just don't understand why I…" he broke off, gazing down at his desk.

Ben sensed that he shouldn't push Jack to tell him anything. If he wasn't in a receptive mood, things could get ugly. "One more thing."

"Oh?"

"The kid's going quietly mental. He's clearly bored out of his fucking mind, all he does is play on his phone and make coffee. Maybe you should give him something to do."

Jack looked out the window at the boy on the sofa. "Sure. I'll think of something."

* * *

"Steven?"

Ianto looked up at Jack. "Yes, sir?"

"I want you to take a walk with me."

Ianto frowned slightly, feeling puzzled. "Why?"

"I thought you looked bored."

Ianto studied his face, trying to work out if he was hiding anything.

"Of course if you don't want to…"

"No! No, it's fine, I'm bored stiff. Thanks." Ianto stood up and hurried after Jack, who swept out of the door. "You know, you should really have a lift or something."

Jack laughed. "A lift. I wouldn't have thought of that…nice idea, but I think that might attract a bit of attention, don't you? Torchwood's good, but we're yet to master invisibility. Intentional invisibility anyway." he glanced at him sidelong. "Have we?"

"What?"

"Have we mastered invisibility in your time. Do we have a lift?"

Ianto smiled at the small note of excitement that had crept into Jack's voice. "No, Torchwood still cant do invisibility."

"Ah well."

"So…is there invisibility in the 51st century?" Ianto asked without thinking.

Jack looked quickly at him. "Erm…yeah. Only for the military though."

"That must have been amazing."

"Yeah…Steven?"

"Hmm?"

"Is there anything about me you don't know?"

Ianto blinked. "Huh?"

"You know I cant die, you know my name, you know about Gray, you know I travelled with The Doctor, you know I'm from 3000 years in the future, and I know you know I live at the Hub…"

"Like I said. You trust me."

"I don't trust anyone that much. Hell, I wouldn't even tell The Doctor about Gray, let alone someone who works for me. Why you?"

Ianto opened his mouth to tell Jack he hadn't actually told him about his brother, that he'd shown up and tried to destroy Cardiff, but then he suddenly remembered who he was talking to and shut it again. If Jack found out about Gray's attack 8 years before it happened, Ianto had a feeling that would be the mother of all potential paradoxes.

"We're friends."

"I'm friends with all my team. That doesn't answer my question."

Ianto looked over at him and saw suspicion creasing his forehead. He apologised silently for the lie he was about to tell. "You know me."

"What does that mean?"

"You know me…from now. When we meet, you know who I am. The surprise on your face when you saw me! All this had already happened."

"Why didn't I tell you how to get back then?"

_Oh, shit._ Ianto thought fast. "Because…because I didn't know how. I **don't **know how. You telling me would have changed everything."

Jack nodded slowly, and smiled the first genuine smile he'd given Ianto since he got there. Ianto breathed a sigh of relief. He'd bought it.

* * *

"Hey Josie, come look at this."

The doctor looked up from her case report. "What?"

"Just come over here." Samina told her, pointing at the computer screen.

Josie walked over and looked. On the screen was a picture of a large chunk of metal, broken roughly at one end. "Ok…why am I looking at this?"

"Look at the carvings," she rummaged around on her desk and withdrew a piece of paper, "then look at this that Steven drew of that ball thing. It's the same design!" she pointed at the screen. "Look there, on the top. A dip. I reckon it's part of the same structure."

Josie let out a low whistle. "Man, that guy can draw well! So, do we know what it is?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Why unfortunately?"

"This thing is in the archives of Torchwood one. They reckon it's Pysphereian. They've had it for over 50 years, and no-ones touched it for 49. You have no idea how much searching I had to do to dig this up, I reckon over half the people don't even know it's there."

"Why? I mean, why has it been ignored?"

Samina looked at her gravely. "Because everyone who did touch it…died."

Josie stared at her, then back to the screen. "We need to get hold of Jack."

**

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**

Reviews make me smile :)

**xx**


	6. Hiding

**I cant believe when I first started writing this is was only going to be a one-shot! I would have missed out on all these brilliant reviews! Keep 'em coming, I love you guys!**

**A bit of a short chapter this time around, I'm afraid, I'm having a bit of a writers block problem (Grr. Worst problem ever!) I'll try and do a longer one next time!**

* * *

"So how long have you lived in London?" Jack asked as they gazed out across the harbour.

Ianto shrugged, his face guarded. "A while."

Jack sighed. "Steven, I'm not trying to get information. I'm just talking."

"Oh." Ianto blushed. "Sorry."

"It's ok." he was interrupted by his mobile. He answered it with a grin. "Sammy. Shoot." he listened intently, and with every second his smile fell, until eventually he looked completely ashen. He hung up. "Steven, we need to get back to the Hub."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

"Samina's found some information about your sphere." he licked his lips. "And you're not going to like it."

* * *

Ianto sat there in shock as Samina explained what she'd uncovered. _They'd all died_. But…he couldn't die! He'd always known Torchwood had a short life expectancy, but he'd always imagined dieing in some brilliant heroic way in the field (preferably with Jack holding him), not killed by a stabbed finger whilst carrying something to the archives! That was a pathetic way to go!

"Steven? You ok?" he looked up to see Josie watching him, concerned.

"What do you think? I've just been told that thing could kill me."

"Not if we can help it." Jack put in.

Ianto smiled weakly.

"I've been doing some research on the other Torchwood employees who were killed by this thing." Ben told them.

"Found anything linking them?"

"Give me a chance Captain, I was only told to five minutes ago." he glanced at the paper he was holding. "So far I've turned up nothing that connects them…"

"Well that's fucking helpful isn't it?" Jack grunted. Ben glared.

"**Anyway**, as I was saying, nothing connecting them so far, **BUT**, something doesn't add up. Steven said he was wearing gloves."

"So?"

"So none of the others were, and everyone who did handle the bloody thing with gloves remained alive and kicking, with no effects at all. So what happened to Steven?"

Ianto blinked. He hadn't thought of that. Why him? Had he done something? Was he special? Owen and Tosh had had their hands all over that thing for ages before he'd shown up, and neither of them were sat in the middle of their adolescence. Why had the sphere reacted when he touched it? It had been almost instantaneous. Looking back, when he picked it up, he was certain it was perfectly smooth. There was no way he'd have missed a bloody great spike.

No, the thing had reacted to _him_. It was almost like it attacked him. But…why?

He looked up, confused, when the others all stood up and made their way out of the boardroom. He realised that whilst he'd been thinking, the conversation had carried on and Jack had evidently given everyone instructions. He followed the others out of the room, hoping against hope that Jack hadn't told him to do anything important, because he had no idea what it was meant to be. He flopped down on the sofa and pulled out his phone. 13 missed calls and 10 text messages, all from his mother. He sighed and deleted them all, wondering if he was being stupid. Maybe he could text her? Just tell her he was fine and not to worry. Although he supposed that would probably make her worry more when he didn't answer her calls. After all, anyone can send a text. Someone could have killed him and nicked his phone…

"What're you hiding from?"

Ianto jumped when Jack's voice came from behind him. He'd been looking at the small screen over Ianto's shoulder.

"Nothing." Ianto said, shoving the mobile back into his pocket.

"Steven, why aren't you talking to your mom?" Jack walked round and sat down next to him. "Does anyone know you're here? Like, not even friends?"

"Who would I tell, Jack? That would go down well wouldn't it? 'Oh, I'm just going over to Cardiff to see Jack, because I'm actually from the future and I'm stuck in my adolescent body'. They'd lock me in a psych ward!"

"What?" Jack asked, frowning.

"They'd lock me in a psych ward. You know, thinking I was crazy?"

"No, I mean…you said you came here to see me?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Me. Not Torchwood. Me specifically."

Oh. "I knew you could help me."

"But I thought I'd never told you about this before?"

Ianto hesitated. There was no way Jack would understand how much Ianto had just needed to see him when he realised what had happened. Although Ianto would never admit it, especially not to the man himself, he had come to see Jack as someone who could fix everything. It hadn't even occurred to him that maybe Jack _wouldn't _be able to fix this. But Ianto would have felt stupid telling Jack he felt that way, and the man sat in front of him wasn't Jack.

He may look like him. He may have had his face and his name, but it wasn't him. He was a stranger.

"You didn't. But you always know what to do. And you mentioned something like this happening. I guess you must have been talking about me."

Jack looked at him searchingly, and Ianto felt his heart begin to beat faster. Shit. Why was he looking at him like that? Had Ianto changed his story?

The younger man quickly ran through everything he'd said since he'd gotten here, but he couldn't remember if he'd said anything different. He knew it was important that he maintain a story, the slightest inconsistency could make Jack suspicious and ruin everything.

"Ok." Jack said with a shrug, getting up. Ianto surreptitiously watched him as he walked back to his office, allowing his heart rate to return to normal. He'd gotten away with it. Letting out a deep breath, he went back to the task of deleting his messages.

So he didn't see the confused look Jack cast him before closing his office door.

**

* * *

**

Anyone here good at making Youtube vids? I really wanna do a Youtube ad for this fic, but I really don't have the time, so I'm going to ask you, the lovely readers, to do it instead!

**You'd need characters for 'young Ianto' and the Torchwood team of 2000 (Ben, Samina, Josie), and the music can be anything you want.**

**(Also, I'll eventually try and do Youtube videos for all my fics, so if anyone wants to make one for another of my fics that's great :D)**

**Review/PM me to confirm you're going to have a go, and then email me the video to the address on my profile!**

**Winner will get full credit, and can design an OC, either for my next fic or to be included in this one. You choose!x**


	7. The Right Track?

**I'm really sorry this has taken so long! Curse stupid writer's block!**

**Dedicated to everyone who's reviewed/favourited/alerted this story! There's been a random massive surge of story alerts these past couple of days, and it makes me so happy! Thanks!**

* * *

Ianto stood in the shooting range, firing bullet after bullet into the cardboard aliens. He was sure Jack or one of the others would appear at any second to take the gun away, but he didn't care. He had so many feelings running around inside his mind, and he needed some sort of release.

Which for him usually meant either shooting the hell out of something, or shagging Jack. And the second option was closed to him right now.

Sighing, he lowered the gun. This really wasn't as satisfying as it should have been.

What if Jack couldn't save him this time? What if he really was going to die? There was so much he still wanted to do, so much he still wanted to say.

He owed Toshiko money.

He'd promised his mam he'd come home for Christmas.

He'd never told Jack how he felt…

"Better?"

Ianto jumped and spun around. "Jack! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see you'll be a valuable team member one day. But this really isn't the healthiest thing to be doing you know. You should talk to someone."

"Yeah, well. The person I'd usually talk to isn't here. Yet." he looked down at the weapon in his hand. "How do you bear it?"

"What?"

"Being out of your time?"

Jack frowned at him. "It's different."

Ianto opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again. He knew it was stupid, but the fact that Jack had shut him out hurt. He had never really understood why Jack trusted him so much; after Lisa, after releasing Abadon…of all the Torchwood employees it was he who deserved trust the least. Yet it was him who was trusted most.

"I'm going to have to take that gun away you know."

Ianto sighed. "I know." he smiled. "I should probably be worried that my major stress outlet is shooting things."

"Oh, I don't know. Seems like a good thing in this job." he held out his hand for the gun. Ianto walked over and handed it to him. "Steven, please talk to someone. Talk to Josie, she's qualified."

Ianto looked up at him. "Yeah. I might do. Thanks."

* * *

"It'll be ok, Steven. We'll figure something out." Josie looked over at him from where she was conducting an autopsy. "You'll get back."

"But what if I don't?" he leant his head against the wall. "What if this is it? 'Died as he lived, being the fucking butler.'"

"I'm sure you were more than that…"

"Please. I was the butler and the boss's part time shag. Not exactly the best things for my CV."

"You were Jack's part time shag?"

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "Do you have to sound so surprised? I like to think I'm not that ugly."

"I'm sorry, it's just…I didn't even know he was gay!"

Ianto laughed. "This is Jack we're talking about. He doesn't do categories."

"Doesn't he? You know more than us, remember."

"Yeah. I just wish it weren't so _difficult_." he smiled lightly and his eyes got a faraway look in them. "In order to see the silver lining, you have to get through the rain."

She frowned, confused. "What?"

"Oh, it's just something my tad used to say. Basically means you have to get through the bad before you get the good."

She looked over at him, then put down her scalpel and sat down beside him. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm coping. I've been through worse." he sighed. "It's just the _helplessness_, you know? There's nothing I can do. Nothing. I haven't felt like this since I had amnesia when I…" he broke off.

"Steven?"

"I am so **stupid**!" he exclaimed, jumping up. "Ben!"

"What?" Ben called back.

"The other employees who died. Check their medical records. Did any of them have any…unexplained memory loss? Amnesia? Prior to the accident I mean."

"Is there a reason for this, or…?"

"When I was a teenager, I went missing. No-one saw me for days, and then I showed up with no memory of what had happened."

"Ok…"

"That's now! This, these days we're living now, this is when I vanished! This must have been where I was! I knew the 17th meant something, it was the day I disappeared!"

Ben blinked. "Could be onto something there, kid. I'll check it out."

Josie tapped his shoulder. "Steven, I still don't understand. You say you went missing?"

"When I was younger, I disappeared for almost a week. When I was found by the roadside I had no idea where I'd been, or what I'd been doing." Ianto leant forwards. "Well, that's now. This must have been what I was doing! All this time I've been assuming I'm at risk of causing a paradox, that I've broken the timeline, but what if this happened all along! Maybe that's why the sphere stuck me; because it already had! Me being here was already Jack's past, so there was no way it couldn't happen!"

She frowned. "But…you knew it had already happened. You told Jack he knew you when you met."

Ianto froze. Shit. "Josie…"

"You've been lying to us." she backed away slightly.

"Josie, I haven't. Well, not really. Please, you can't tell Jack about this."

"About what, exactly?"

"Look…I had to say that to get him to trust me. He's lived so long, longer than you think, and he's been given plenty of reasons not to trust people. I had to make him think he could trust me."

"And can he?"

"Yes. You all can. I just want to get back to my time, to my Torchwood. Please, please don't say anything."

She regarded him for a second, and then seemed to relax a fraction. "Ok. Ok, I won't say anything."

Ianto grinned. For the first time he felt like he was getting somewhere, that he'd taken a step closer to getting home…then a thought struck him and the grin vanished. "But if I'm right…oh no."

"What? Steven?"

He turned. "Josie, if I'm right then that means we have four days."

"Until what?"

"I don't know. All I know is that in four days I'm found wondering by the side of the motorway. So if we can't figure out how to get me back…"

"…it means you must die." she finished, horrified.

* * *

"Amnesia?" Jack said confused about three hours later. Ben had called a meeting in the conference room.

"Amnesia. Steven put me on to it."

"How?"

"Because in four days time I'm going to be found with no memory of the past week."

Jack looked interested. "I see."

"They all have it, Jack. Several of them were committed, claiming to have time travelled. All of them woke up a week later with seemingly nothing wrong, unable to remember their 'crazy' spell."

"But back in the present day, they died?"

"Yeah."

"Why though? Seems a bit pointless, sending someone back in time for a week."

"But that's not what they're for. Don't forget, these Pysphereian's didn't design it for human use. I reckon, and this is only a guess mind, that this arch thing they've got at Torchwood 1 is their way of time travel. Only as humans we don't have any control over where we end up. Or how we get back."

"Steven, can I have a word?" Jack asked suddenly.

"Sure."

"In private?" the others all filed out obediently, casting puzzled looks back at them. "It's an interesting theory."

"It's all we've got."

"I'm not criticizing you, calm down. Although like all theories, it really should be tested."

"And how're we going to do that?"

"I can't die. So if I touch the arch, I should go back. Then we'll know if we're on the right track."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night, after the others had all gone home for the day, Jack and Ianto climbed into the SUV and headed off for London.

It had been Jack's idea to break in. knowing they had only a matter of days made him anxious, and he knew Yvonne Hartman would drag it on as long as possible. For some reason he couldn't fathom, she hated him.

Ianto looked nervously out the window. He was wearing a hat and sunglasses and a big coat, and he felt very uncomfortable. Jack had laughed when he'd seen Ianto's strange attire, but Ianto wanted to avoid being spotted on CCTV at all costs.

The SUV pulled into the car park and Jack got out, looking around. "I swear every time I come here it gets more depressing. I don't know how it could get any worse."

"Give it 7 years." Ianto muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." he said quickly. "Shall we go?"

The two of them hurried through the corridors, Ianto slightly ahead of Jack, and they reached the archives in next to no time. "You worked for Torchwood 1?" Jack asked.

"What?!"

"You know your way around pretty well."

"I followed the signs."

"What, those non-existent ones? Why didn't I do that?"

Ianto glared at him, and he shrugged. "Come on. We need to find this arch thing." Ianto said, stepping through the door.

As soon as he was inside, he felt himself relax. There was just something so soothing about standing amongst vast shelves of weird alien objects. He ran a hand lovingly over one of the shelves. It was then that he noticed what was _behind_ the shelf.

A door.

To be more precise, a locked door.

"Jack! Over here." he hissed.

Jack came over and looked. "Could be it." he let out a low whistle. "What I wouldn't give for a sonic screwdriver right now."

"Well, you're stuck with the earthlings right now." Ianto sighed looking around. Then he smiled. "But still. Don't underestimate us." he motioned for Jack to help him move the shelf, then bent down and peered into the lock. "Yes, I think I…" he did something Jack couldn't see, and then pulled back. The door was open.

"Ok…how?" Jack asked in amazement.

Ianto held up a piece of wire, grinning. "I had a…lets say rebellious childhood. I got very good at picking locks."

"To be honest, I'm surprised that's all that there is. I'd have expected them to have better tech than a lock and key."

"Oh, they do. When I was last here they had a fingerprint scanner and voice recognition and everything."

Jack shot him a sharp look, which went unnoticed.

The two of them stepped through and gasped. If the room they'd just left was soothing, this place was the complete opposite. It was just as neat and organised as the room before it, but these items all exuded a feeling of danger and death. Ianto found himself glancing nervously into shadows, convinced he could see them moving.

"There." Jack whispered. Ianto turned and saw it. Half hidden behind a piece of bright cloth.

The arch.

Samina had been right, it definitely matched the design of the metal ball. Ianto reached out his hand…

"Steven!" Jack said sharply.

Ianto caught himself, pulling back his hand. "sorry." he muttered. The last thing he wanted right now was to pass out and wake up as an eight year old or something. He'd never get back.

Jack stepped forward and swallowed nervously. "Here goes nothing." he glanced at Ianto. "Wish me luck?"

"Good luck, sir."

Jack took a deep breath, then laid a hand on the metal structure. For a few seconds nothing happened, and Ianto began to wonder if he'd been mistaken after all. Then Jack staggered backwards and fell. Ianto reached out and caught him, preventing his head from hitting the hard concrete floor. "Jack?! Jack, talk to me."

"S…Steven?" he muttered, disorientated. Then he passed out.

"Jack! Jack, wake up. Please." Ianto muttered. "Come on, come on."

Jack frightened him suddenly by taking a huge, shuddering breath, before lying still. Ianto checked his pulse, praying he was wrong, but he wasn't.

Jack was dead.

He wiped away tears which had suddenly sprung out of nowhere. Is that what happened to him? Did he just fall to the floor and die? Was he _already dead_?

Jack suddenly sat up with a gasp as life force once more surged through him. "Jack? What happened?"

Jack looked at him, then shook his head. "I can't."

"Jack?"

"I can't." he took a breath. "But you're right. It sends you back along your personal timeline."

Jack looked awful. Almost as bad as he'd looked when Gray came back. "Are you going to be ok to drive?"

Jack thought about this for a second, then shook his head.

"Ok, give me the keys."

Jack handed them over without comment, and Ianto helped him to his feet. They both jumped as light suddenly flooded the room, almost blinding them.

"Well well, Jack Harkness. Not looting, were we? And oh look, he brought a little friend!"

Ianto felt a cold shiver run down his spine, he turned, and found himself looking into the steely eyes of Yvonne Hartman. With armed guards.

* * *

**Reviews are loved xx**


	8. Capture

"Hello, Jack." Yvonne said with a fake smile. "Haven't seen you in a _long_ time."

"Yvonne."

"What're you doing in here? You know me, Jack; I don't like it when people play with my toys."

"We weren't stealing anything…"

"You were found in a highly restricted area!" she snapped. Her eyes flicked to Ianto and she frowned, taking him in. "Well, I must say; I always knew you were unorthodox but employing children, Jack?"

"He's not an employee."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well then what were you doing in this locked room together? In the dark. alone." she smirked. "I wonder what this would do to your reputation, Harkness?"

Ianto felt anger bubble in the pit of his stomach and started forwards, but Jack's hand on his arm kept him back.

"We don't have any of your artefacts, Yvonne, so just let us go."

"Oh I don't think so. Breaking and entering a secure government facility? It's within my jurisdiction to have you both arrested and held. Without trial."

"Run." Jack hissed suddenly in Ianto's ear, face turned slightly away so Yvonne couldn't see.

"What?"

"I'll distract them. You've got the car keys, so run. Get back to the Hub. Tell the others."

"I'm not leaving you here…"

"Steven, it's not a request, it's an order. Now when I give the signal, you run."

Ianto swallowed. "Ok."

"So, you've got me Yvonne." Jack said cheerfully with a disarming smile, stepping in front of Ianto with his arms held wide. "Well done."

She frowned suspiciously at him. "Don't think you're going to be able to charm your way out of this one, Harkness. You've been given far too much rope already, I'm just glad I'm around to see you hang yourself on it."

"See the thing about me, Yvonne." Jack said, walking towards her with a grin. "Is that it doesn't matter how many times I hang myself, I'm going to keep coming back good as new."

"Well, we'll see about that, wont we?"

"Yes. We will." quicker than Ianto would have thought possible, Jack jabbed his elbow backwards into the nose of one of the guards and snatched his gun, waving it at the others.

"Steven! Run!"

Ianto didn't need telling twice. He shot off as fast as he could, but not fast enough that he was out of earshot of Jack's yell of pain as the guards got him under control.

"Get after the other one!" he heard Yvonne snap, and felt his blood run cold.

_Run. Hide. Get away._ Ianto's heart thudded in his chest as he ran; trying to be as quiet as possible so the guards wouldn't hear him. What the hell had he been thinking, coming to Torchwood 1? He should have let Jack go by himself…ok, so he would never have done that, but still. If he was caught by Yvonne and her cronies, that was it. It was all over. She'd hold him for longer than the allotted time, and then not only would he probably die back in the present day, but she'd witness his re-awakening and his telling her his real name. Which would mean he'd never end up working for Torchwood. Which would mean he would never be around to have the accident in the first place, which would mean he was never here for Yvonne to find out who he was…basically it would seriously mess up the timeline. And probably cause some sort of implosion of reality.

He ducked into an empty room and pulled the door to, peeking out through a crack as he watched two of the guards run past. He breathed a sigh of relief, but he was well aware he wasn't out yet. He turned round to see where he was, and swore quietly.

He was in a monitoring station; one of the many rooms which captured video feed from around Torchwood Tower 24/7. It was in this very room that in the future Ianto Jones and two other Torchwood employees would hide from the Cybermen invasion. It had been from here that he'd seen them take Lisa; it had been the last thing he saw before they disabled the cameras. Even thinking about it, Ianto realised he had tears running down his face. He wiped them away hurriedly.

No. There wasn't time for this. He could remember Lisa later, right now what he needed to do was find a way out and back to the SUV.

Ianto scanned the CCTV screens. He could see the guards Yvonne had sent after him. There were four in total, patrolling in pairs. Only four? Obviously Yvonne hadn't thought him much of a threat.

Ianto smiled, in spite of the adrenaline coursing through his system. Well, this would teach her not to underestimate people. Especially when so much rested on getting out.

Ianto wasn't stupid; he knew he had to leave Jack behind. He'd find a way to get out even if he had to be legit about it. But he, Ianto, had to get out and he had to do it now. He planned a route out in his head. He had two choices; either take a very long route out and risk being spotted on CCTV, or try and get out via the door they'd come in through, which was a lot closer to the SUV, but that plan had the risk of having to get past 2 of the guards.

He licked his lips nervously. The fate of the entire universe could rest on this decision. Ianto suddenly understood Jack's fear of crossing timelines. What should be a simple decision was suddenly almost unbearably stressful…and was made worse when Ianto noticed the other pair of guards was now approaching the room in which he stood. He made a split-second decision and ran, opting for the shorter route and hoping his small size would give him an advantage against the gun toting men before him.

He scurried down several corridors, keeping an eye out for anyone he'd have to avoid. He hurried round a corner and almost ran slap bang into a couple of men, only just managing to duck back round the corner and into an alcove before they saw him. Where the hell had they come from? Ianto had been sure the guards were no-where near here, there was no way they could have gotten here so fast unless…

Oh, crap.

They weren't guards. They were just ordinary Torchwood employees, which meant the new work day had begun.

It also meant that instead of 4 people Ianto had to get past, he was now up against 400.

Shit.

Ianto bit his lip nervously. If he was in his normal body this would make getting out a lot easier. But a teenage boy in a facility like Torchwood was going to stick out horribly. And all it would take would be for someone to get suspicious and grab him and it would all be over.

Literally.

Pulling his hat down low over his face, he walked as casually as he could towards the sudden stream of Torchwood personnel. As he walked, he began to realise that perhaps the crowd of people was a blessing rather than a curse. No-one even glanced at him, too busy catching up with colleagues and thinking about how they could get out of doing that report that was due.

He turned the corner and felt relief wash over him. He was at the exit, he'd made it! Breaking into a fast trot, Ianto sped towards the door…

"Oi! You!"

_Shit!_ Ianto thought desperately, looking over his shoulder to see two of the guards sprinting towards him. He quickly shoved the door open with his shoulder and ran, well aware that the two men were following him.

"I said stop!"

Ianto ducked instinctively as he heard a gunshot behind him. The bastards were shooting at him! He ran on, aware that the first shot had probably been a warning and next time they wouldn't hesitate to actually hit him. He almost laughed in relief when the black SUV came into sight. Fumbling in his pocket he had a moment of blind panic when he couldn't find the keys. Had he dropped them? He felt weak with relief when he felt them in his jacket pocket. Yanking open the drivers door he climbed in, adjusting to the weird feeling of everything being slightly higher than he was used to. He'd had a late growth spurt at 17 and had shot up about 3 inches.

Shaking his head to clear it, he jammed the key into the ignition and floored the accelerator. He heard yells behind him, and then several bullets smacked harmlessly into the rear windscreen. Once ricocheted off the wing mirror and slammed into the window on the driver's door, right beside Ianto's head. If he'd been in a normal car rather than the bullet proof SUV, it would have killed him instantly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was only when he'd been driving for half an hour, with no sign of anything following him, that Ianto began to relax. He'd got away. He was safe.

Of course, there was still the problem that Jack needed rescuing, but it should be fairly easy to sort that out. Although technically Yvonne was well within her right to hold Jack, the captain was a Torchwood employee, and so they could easily go through official channels to get him released. He hadn't actually broken the law, after all.

Ianto blinked slowly at the door to the tourist office, feeling suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline he'd been running on had well and truly worn out, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a warm bed and never get up again. With a sigh, he walked through and was surprised to find it empty. He wondered briefly where everyone was, then shrugged and pressed the button allowing him entry into the Hub.

Where everyone was became evident as soon as he walked past the cog door. The three Torchwood members were watching him, and he could tell from the unnatural feeling silence that he'd walked in on a conversation.

"Steven!" Ben yelled, almost angrily. "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Steven?" Josie asked quietly.

"Steven what's going on, where's Jack?" Samina demanded.

"London."

There was an awkward pause. "Ok…care to explain that one?"

"We went over to Torchwood 1 to have a look at that arch thing. Only…Yvonne caught us."

"So, what, you just left him there? Escaped on your own?" Ben sounded furious.

"Or course not!" Ianto shot back at him. "He told me to go. I already had the car keys because he was still weak from having touched the arch so when she came in…"

"Hold on - Jack touched the arch?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So he didn't die! He must have figured out a way to save you!" Samina exclaimed in excitement.

Ianto felt his stomach drop. Oh shit. He'd said too much. "Er…no, because…he…he said he couldn't remember anything."

Samina frowned suspiciously. "Nothing at all?"

"I…I asked him. He said he couldn't remember anything. Sorry."

Samina nodded, looking disappointed. "Never mind, hey? Ben, get on the phone to Hartman, demand she give us our captain back. Josie, check Steven over. He looks a bit peaky."

"Right. Come on, Steven."

Ianto followed her into the medical bay, perching on the table.

"Bad news for you about Jack."

"Yeah."

"Bet you're gutted."

"Totally. Yeah."

Josie shone a light into his eyes. "Do you actually want to go home?"

"Of course! Why the hell wouldn't I?"

"Because I saw your face when Samina realised Jack had touched the arch and survived. I was the only one looking at you and I've gotta say…you looked terrified. And you're not a very convincing liar in a crisis. Jack didn't forget what happened, did he?"

"It's not that."

"So something else must have terrified you, because no-one looks like that for no reason. So did you lie about what happened in London?"

Ianto looked at her, assessing the situation. "Can I trust you?"

"That depends on what you're about to say."

"Seriously Josie. You can't tell the others, especially Jack."

"Timelines?"

"Timelines." Ianto agreed.

Josie sighed. "You know, you could use that as an excuse to tell me anything and you know I wouldn't repeat it in case you were telling the truth."

Ianto winked at her. "So can I trust you?"

"Yes."

Ianto licked his lips. "Have you ever seen Jack take down a Weevil?"

"Of course." she said, puzzled.

"Ever wondered how he can stand on roofs so high, so close to the edge, and not feel any fear? Ever wondered how he knows so much but reveals barely anything?"

"Yeah, I mean, who wouldn't?"

"Jack can't die."

Josie stared at him for a beat, then laughed uncertainly. "What?"

"He can't die. The man you know is, at the moment," Ianto did some quick calculations, "166 years old. In my time he's almost 2000 years older than that."

"You're kidding, right?"

"I sometimes wish I was."

"He's over 2000 years old."

"Yes."

"How?"

Ianto sighed and his eyes became distant, unwanted memories of Jack screaming and crying in his sleep, holding him as he clung to Ianto tightly, knowing even as he whispered that everything was alright that there was nothing he could do to ease his lover's mental torture. "Trust me; you really don't want to know."

"But it's why he's…" she pointed towards the morgue. "Yes?"

Ianto nodded. "You can't mention this. I could have screwed things up just by telling you."

She looked around. "Well we're still here and unexploded, so you can't have screwed up that badly." she sighed. "I won't say anything. And I'll try not to treat him differently…but hold on, that didn't answer my original question."

"Which was?"

"Why did you look so scared?"

"Because Jack **did** die, Josie. He died, but then he came back. The others cant know."

"Oh. Wasn't that a bit…creepy?"

Ianto shrugged. "I'm used to it." As Josie watched his eyes became distant again. "Sometimes I think I'm probably too used to it."


	9. Running Out of Time

**Hello! I'm sure all of you have forgotten about this story by now, I'm so sorry! It's been about a million years since I updated, I know!**

**I'll try and do regular updates from now on, RL has sort of calmed down, leaving plenty of room for fic writing, so…**

* * *

"Look, Ms Hartman, be reasonable. He didn't take anything, so you can't…what's that supposed to mean?…No…we need him back here…well of course we're capable without him, but…Ms Hartman…Ms Hartman?" Ben slammed the phone down. "Fucking bitch hung up on me!"

"I take it she won't give Jack back?" Samina asked.

"No." he sighed. "No, she won't."

Ianto groaned in frustration. Why was Yvonne Hartman always so bloody stubborn? In under two days he was going to die, unless Jack could do something.

He wasn't sure why he felt so certain that only Jack could do something. It wasn't like everyone else wasn't doing everything they could to help him. But for some reason he couldn't quite fathom he knew that without Jack he would die.

He frowned.

Something had changed.

Something in the air felt different, like when you go outside and there's a storm due. Slightly too hot, slightly too thick, slightly too damp. He looked round to see if anyone else had noticed it, but they seemed fine. Was it just him then?

"Steven?" He heard Josie's voice but it sounded muffled, as though she was talking through a blanket or something. He blinked and she came into clearer focus. "Steven, are you ok?"

"I don't feel so well." he choked out through gritted teeth. In seconds, Josie was all professional.

"Steven what is it?"

"I don't know. I feel….wrong."

"Wrong how? Are you in pain, or…?" but she never got to ask about any other symptoms, because at that second he collapsed into a dead faint. "Oh, shit!" Josie fell to her knees beside him. "Steven? Steven can you hear me?"

* * *

"How is he?" Ben asked, looking up. Josie sighed.

"He's awake. But I don't like this, Ben, he's getting weaker." she ran a hand through her hair. "He's just a kid. This shouldn't be happening to him!"

"He's not a kid though is he? Not really."

"That's not the point." Josie snapped.

"Sorry." Ben looked at his feet for a few seconds. "You want some pizza? Just been delivered."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm not sure I could eat at the moment."

"Josie, you're doing all you can. I've seen all those machines going down there, you're running yourself ragged. There is nothing else we can do."

"Jack would know what to…" Josie broke off abruptly, eyes widening.

"Jose? You ok?"

"There is something else we could try…" Josie said hesitantly.

"What?"

"Give me a couple of hours." she told him, standing up and walking away.

"Hold on!" Ben called after her, "Aren't you even going to tell me your plan?"

She hesitated, then turned her head back to him. "I'm going to ask Jack."

Ben snorted. "Good luck with that. That bitch Hartman isn't gonna let you anywhere near him."

"No. She isn't, is she?" Josie said, walking off. Ben shrugged and went back to his pizza.

* * *

"This is a bad idea. Oh, this is a really bad idea." Josie glanced at the doorway to the morgue as if expecting someone to be watching her. "This could go so, so wrong…"

In spite of her reservations, Josie steeled herself, and then slowly raised the temperature. It was a lot simpler unfreezing Jack than it was with Tommy, because (assuming Steven could be taken at his word) Jack couldn't die. They could have just shoved him in a block of ice and he'd have been fine.

She watched as the skin became less pale, the lips lost their blue-ish tinge. She almost cried out when Jack opened his eyes and sat up. Josie put a hand over Jack's mouth before he could make any sort of noise. Jack regarded her with shocked eyes. Once she thought it was unlikely Jack would yell, she removed her hand.

"What…?" Jack began. He blinked and seemed to take her in properly. "J-Josie?"

"Um…hi."

"How're you…?" He looked around. "What the hell am I doing here? This is supposed to be 2008! I need you to freeze me again. Freeze me now."

"I cant just yet, so you might as well get up. Jack, listen to me, we have to be quick. Steven needs your help."

Jack paused. "What?"

"He needs your help. He's dieing, Jack."

"You woke me up to tell me that?! Look, he doesn't die, ok? I _know _that, because I've been through it already. How the hell did you know I was here, anyway?" Jack asked, climbing out of the drawer and stretching.

She shrugged. "Steven showed me."

Jack froze. "Steven? How did he know?"

"I don't know. All I know is that he called you 'his' Jack. I assumed it happened in his time."

"I don't…"

"Look, we don't have time for this!" she snapped. "You've lived through this, right, so you know how to cure him! How to send him home!"

"You…it was you. You discovered a formula, a cure. Either that or you killed him." Jack shrugged. "Either way, he turned back into his usual teenage self."

"_Me_?!" she looked horrified. "But I don't even know where to start! I mean, what do I look for?"

"You know, checking out his cell structure and whatever. You did it before, you can do it again. Can I be put back to sleep now please? You really have _no_ idea how important it is."

"Cell structure? But…" she looked panicked. "I don't think I can do this!"

"Josie, calm down. You've done it before, you can do it again." he smiled. "I know you can."

She breathed deeply, calming down. "I suppose you're right." she half smiled. "In order to see the silver lining, you have to get through the rain."

Jack turned his head quickly towards her. "What did you just say?" he asked quietly, frowning.

"Hmm? Oh, it's just something Steven said."

"Steven?"

"Yeah. Told me his dad used to say it to him."

"_Steven's_ dad? But that is…" he suddenly let out a hoot of laughter. "Oh Jack Harkness you are a fucking _idiot_! How could you be so blind?"

"What are you on about?"

"How could I not have realised? How could I not have _noticed_?"

"Jack!"

He looked back at her. "Sorry." he hesitated. "I um…I know the formula."

"What?"

"I know it."

"But surely you can't…" suddenly the frown on her brow disappeared. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"I never found a formula in the first place! You did!"

"Oh!"

"I knew the cure because you told me what to do!" she looked puzzled again. "But…you can only give me the formula because I told you about it, and I only knew to tell you about it because you'd already told me, but you only knew because I…my head hurts."

"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey." Jack told her with a grin. Josie merely blinked at him.

"Huh?"

"Never mind." he looked up quickly. "Do you have pen and paper? Because this is going to need to be written down."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Josie whistled softly. "That is bloody complex. No way would I have been able to formulate that myself in a few days. A few _months_ maybe…"

"So now you have to freeze me again."

"Ok."

"Oh, and Josie? About getting me back from Torchwood one…"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Yvonne you know what happened to Diane. And ask her…ask her how she got hold of that particle loop rod."

"What does that mean?"

"It means she'll let me go. Talking of which, you have to do the same."

Jack lay back down in the drawer. Josie reached for the controls, then hesitated.

"Jack…when does it happen?"

"When does what happen?"

"When do I die?"

Jack looked up at her, his expression guarded. "Who says you've died?"

Josie smiled wryly. "Steven let slip that I wasn't the doctor anymore. And given what it is we do I'm guessing I wasn't promoted."

"Josie you know I can't tell you that."

"Jack please! What about Lee, my brother? I'm all he's got Jack. If I just disappear one day what'll he do? He'll have nothing."

Jack studied her. "Josie…"

"Jack, I'm not stupid. I won't try and stop it from happening. But I want time to prepare."

Jack bit his lip, his eyes not leaving hers.

"Please, Jack."

* * *

"Ben!" Josie yelled, hurrying back into the main area. "Samina!"

"What is it? Honey, are you alright?" Samina asked, concerned.

"I've got it! I know how to send Steven home!"

"How?"

"I…I just formulated something, that's all." she grinned. "And that's not all I know." she walked passed her shocked colleagues into Jack's office and picked up the phone, dialling a number. "…Hello, Yvonne? Josie, Torchwood three. I believe you have our boss?" she laughed lightly. "Yeah, about that…"

**

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